Donald Trump is escalating his threats to increase tariffs on imports if he wins a second term in the White House, reviving fears of renewed trade wars that hit the global economy during his presidency.

On Saturday, Trump went further, promising tariffs of 100 per cent on imports from countries that were moving away from using the dollar — a threat that could engulf many developing economies too.

“I’ll say, ‘you leave the dollar, you’re not doing business with the United States. Because we’re going to put a 100 per cent tariff on your goods,’” he said at a rally in Wisconsin.

“If we lost the dollar as the world currency, I think that would be the equivalent of losing a war,” he told the Economic Club of New York on Thursday.

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  • FrankFrankson@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Yay a 100% tax for us! I can’t wait to pay double for whatever those countries produce! That will show those other countries!

  • RubicTopaz@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    Unironically this would be a great thing. Most manufacturing happens in BRICS nations anyway, so countries would speed up dedollarisation if the US is this desperate.

  • rockSlayer@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    If we lost the dollar as the world currency, I think that would be the equivalent of losing a war

    I hate it when bad people make good points, because the US dollar is absolutely a bludgeoning tool in economic warfare. The might of the US dollar as an economic weapon was in full display when the foreign appropriations act of 1991 severely exacerbated the collapse of Yugoslavia.

    The US dollar should not be the de facto world currency, and trying to stop progress through these means will isolate the US from the entire world.

  • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.ml
    0·
    2 months ago

    His only tool seems to be tariffs. It is his “hammer” and everything looks like a nail to him. He doesn’t care how trade wars hit the poor and middle class the hardest and jack up the cost of living. It is bad enough that they are jacking up the cost of chinese ev cars while at the same time saying we need to go to ev cars by 2035.

    • RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works
      0·
      2 months ago

      Tariffs are great for his base because they see I as a tax on their perceived “enemies”, when in reality they’re the ones footing the higher prices.

      • anarcho_blinkenist@lemmy.mlEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        his own dumb ass thinking it’s 1890 (or that he can make it 1890 again). I know it’s easy to forget in the 24-hour media circus and liberal hand-wringing over his sleazy and reactionary attitudes and him being an ‘existential threat to “democracy”’ or whatever, but he is in actuality a remarkably stupid man. A shining dunce. He probably just watched a documentary on the early history of the US steel industry while half-asleep and connected it with his impulsive half-knowledge of trade and currency politics in his very big very good brain (the best brain, maybe, a lot of people are saying it).

        Based on other things he’s said he probably actually thinks this kind of ‘protectionist’ policy and talk is not only totally grounded in any kind of contemporary reality, but is a ‘win-win’. “either these countries get so scared of losing our valuable markets and ‘deals’ that they bend the knee, or I tariff everything which will definitely bring manufacturing back to the states and everyone gets jobs and america is great again! ART OF THE DEAL!”